Dogecoin vault has been hacked, and shut down while breach is investigated

A hacking intrusion has led to the DogeVault website, an online repository for the Dogecoin virtual currency, shutting down its operation temporarily.

The DogeVault site now simply carries a message explaining what has happened, namely that on Sunday, the service "was compromised by attackers, resulting in a service disruption and tampering with wallet funds".

The service was shut down as soon as the admins got wind of the attack, but by that time the hackers had apparently "accessed and destroyed all data on the hosted virtual machines".

What will happen next? That's not certain. DogeVault says that it's currently working to discover the extent of the intrusion, and any potential impact on user currency – it's not clear if any Dogecoins were actually pinched. DogeVault also states that it is restoring wallet data from an off-site backup.

Naturally enough, the method of attack is also being investigated in order to shore up defences against the prospect of this happening again.

A further statement is expected today, given that DogeVault said it would elaborate on its findings within 48 hours – and presumably the message was posted on Monday, the day following the attack.